State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced a lawsuit Tuesday against three large pharmaceutical distributors, alleging they contributed to the illegal supply of opioids in Washington, fueling the state's opioid epidemic.
The lawsuit asserts that three companies -- McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp -- failed to protect consumers by not alerting law enforcement of suspicious opioid orders and illegally shipping these orders into the state for years.
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Ferguson said during a press conference that this not only violated the state's Consumer Protection Act, but also fueled the opioid epidemic, which is ongoing in Washington. At one point, he also said that eight counties in Washington had more pills than people living there.